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Thursday’s (Nov. 10) edition of Racing Roundup features a results story from Cal Expo.

D Man takes Stan Bergstein Memorial Trot at Cal Expo

Sacramento, CA — It was only fitting that a horse named D Man won a race named in the memory of a great man.

Conditioned trotters, racing for a purse of $3,400, were featured at Cal Expo on Thursday night, in which D Man dropped down in class to score in the Stan Bergstein Memorial.

Leaving and racing four-wide from post six in the field of seven for driver Jim Lackey until two-wide an eighth past the start, the pair didn’t clear to the top until past a :30 first quarter. Getting rated in a :30.2 second quarter, the 4-year-old reached the half-mile juncture, timed in 1:00.2. Reaching the three-quarter station, timed in 1:30.3, Lackey was getting optimistic.

“I kind of felt I had a pretty good shot from there. I just had to make sure I didn’t accelerate him too quickly because sometimes when you do that off the final turn, horses can make a mistake.”

Drawing clear with 3-16ths of a mile to go and trotting nicely, the gelding had 2-1/2 lengths on his foes with an eighth of a mile to go.

“At the seven-eighths it seemed like he was doing enough to win. I was just trying to keep him to his task.”

Owned by Maurice Sigmon and trained by Larry Hastings, D Man wouldn’t be caught while just under minor urging to win ($10.60) by 1-1/4 lengths in 1:59.2, a lifetime best. Dudis Angel (Lemoyne Svendsen) finished in second and Cherry Tree Nicole (Steve Wiseman), who had road trouble at the head of the lane, finished 2-3/4 lengths farther back in third.

“He’s a good little horse that raced good. It was special and an honor to win the Stan Bergstein Memorial, given that Stan was one of the greatest ambassadors that our sport has ever had and someone who truly gave his heart and soul to harness racing,” finished a touched Lackey.

— Scott Ehrlich